Group Seeks Ban On Guns, Hoods In Protests

June 10, 1992|by KATHLEEN PARRISH, The Morning Call

A committee organized to counter racial and cultural intolerance in the Slate Belt is asking municipalities to ban the wearing of hoods and masks and carrying of weapons during parades, in an effort to discourage hate groups.

The Community Unity Committee of the Bangor Ministerium has adopted a four-tier strategy that links area churches with the schools, businesses and local government.

"If there are problems, and we do anticipate them this summer, the lines of communication in the area will be open so that we will meet the influence of hate groups in a constructive way," said the Rev. Ted Bach, chairman of the unity committee.

The banning of hoods and masks during parades, with the exception of Halloween, is one way to defuse racial tension, Bach said. The group is also asking officials of the 12 Slate Belt municipalities to ban the carrying of weapons during marches, except for patriotic holidays, and alter parade routes from neighborhoods where there is a large population of minorities to business districts.

Currently parade participants are permitted to carry weapons, including guns, as long as they are not loaded, Bach said.

Bangor Mayor Carol Cuono said the group's recommendations will be reviewed by the borough's safety committee. "(The banning of weapons) is something that's very much up in the air in Bangor," Cuono said. "You walk a fine line. You have Veterans Day parades. You have to be very, very careful."

But Bach said the bans would not affect holiday parades.

"There is a difference, in my mind anyway, between a parade celebrating a national holiday and a protest not supported by the community. Parades are a time of celebration. Demonstrations are forms of protests," he said. "The idea here, is that usually when hate groups decide to parade, weapons are a form of intimidation."

The ban on hoods would either discourage members of hate groups from participating in the rally or force them to publicly acknowledge their anti-Semitic and racial beliefs, he said.

The safety committee will review the proposals made by the community unity group and make its recommendation to borough council later, Cuono said.

The group is also pushing for cultural diversity programming in the schools and is encouraging the celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday, not only for his achievements in the civil rights movement, but for his contributions to mankind, Bach said.

"We want to educate the parents and teachers and get them to understand what racism is and ... what effects hate groups have upon young people," he said.

Bach said the committee also will be available to counsel victims of racial and cultural discrimination.

In a move that Bach admits is controversial, the Community Unity Committee will ask local businesses to close their stores during the day of a demonstration if they are located along the parade route.

In April, the committee had asked the Slate Belt municipalities to publicly denounce hate groups by adopting a one-paragraph statement drafted by the Ministerium. To date, seven have complied, Bach said.

"The idea here is to raise our voices as a community loud enough so that hate groups will not continue to operate in the community," he said. "Or if they are thinking about it, they will think twice."